Barley Salad with Peppers, Beans…& Everything Else
At 8:30pm on Saturday 28 March people around the world will unite and switch off their lights for one hour – The Earth Hour, for our Earth, our Home. In 2009, Earth Hour will take place in more than 80 countries around the world. “1,672 cities, towns and municipalities in 80 countries have already committed to VOTE EARTH for Earth Hour 2009, as part of the worlds first global election between Earth and global warming.”.. Read More…
All you need to do to participate & reduce some carbon footprint is to switch off the lights for an hour on the 28th March, 2009. During this time, have some quality time with your family & friends.. without the blast of the TV & Music. Free yourself from all the other electrical gadgets that rule our life. It’s our Home! Come join us for Earth Hour 2009, turn off your lights at 8.30pm Saturday 28 March and sign-up here at earthhour.org.
From Earthhour.org.. Here are 10 different ways spend the Earth Hour:
1. Attend a local Earth Hour event or organise your own by throwing an Earth Hour street party with your neighbours
2. Gather family & friends for a night picnic in your local park and look at the stars
3. Enjoy a family dinner by candlelight
4. Organise a treasure hunt in the dark
5. Take the dog for a night walk
6. Have a candle-lit bath
7. Sit in the dark and share stories
8. Organise a family night playing board games
9. Share a romantic night in with your loved one
10. Upload your ‘on the night’ photos and videos to flickr and YouTube respectively, and then add them to the Earth Hour flickr group and the global YouTube Group.
Now that the weather has pleasantly warmed up.. we have started taking our dinner out to the backyard. It’s a lovely way to spend some cozy time with my family, to hear the birds, feel the breeze & probably star gaze, which we all love to do. Given it does not rain, we will go out in the backyard, light a candle & have this simple but healthy & fulfilling salad. This is a no frill recipe, with lots of fresh ingredients & very quick & easy to prepare. This does not need to be reheated, for this can be served cold or at room temperature.
Sending this recipe to Anna at Morsels & Musings for the EARTH HOUR event. She wants us to cook a recipe which can be enjoyed at candle light, & that has “a low carbon footprint (ie made from locally sourced ingredients and minimal packaging).”
This is a salad. So please add whatever you want in this. You do not have to follow what I did. Change the ingredients to match your mood or season.
Ingredients:
- 3/4 Cup Uncooked Barley ( I got the Pearl Barley)
- 2 Bell Peppers/Capsicum ( any kind or color)
- 2 Carrots, cut into thin strips or made into ribbons with the peeler
- 1.5 Cups Thickly Sliced/or halved Button Mushrooms
- 2 Cups Cooked Small Red Beans (Or any other kind of bean you would prefer)
- 1/4 Cup Sweetened Dried Cranberries
- 1/2 Cup Lightly Toasted Walnuts (Or any other nut you would want to use)
- 2 Tomatoes Chopped
- 1/2 Cup Fresh Basil – coarsely chopped or torn
For dressing:
- 4 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- Sea Salt
- Red Pepper Flakes
- 1 Teaspoon of Minced Garlic
- Juice of Half Lemon
- 2 Tablespoons of Fresh Basil (chopped really fine)
- 2 Tablespoons of Balsamic Vinegar.. ( I used Raspberry Hazelnut dressing which I had at home)
Preparation:
Soak the beans overnight if you are not using cans. Cook till tender. I pressure cook all my beans. It is indeed the fastest way to cook them. Set aside.
Soak the barley for a few hours. Drain & cook in boiling water till done. Drain & Set aside.
Whisk all the ingredients of the dressing together. Set aside.
Cut the bell peppers/capsicum in to halves, drizzle some oil & roast them in the oven for abour 20 minutes, till the skin is charred on the outside. Alternatively, put them on a skillet skin side down & roast them at high heat. I usually find this quicker. Peel the blackened skin & cut the peppers into thin strips.
Slice the mushrooms. Add some of the dressing to the mushrooms & let it sit for about 15 minutes.
Combine the barley, beans, mushrooms & all the other ingredients & give it a gentle toss.
Add the dressing to the above salad & toss.
Cover & keep for atleast half hour for all the flavors to merge. Serve at room temperature or cold if you like.
I love quick & light one pot meals like this. They are full of fresh seasonal vegetables & fruits, no hassle cook, takes minimal time & the ingredients can be changed as required. It’s also a great dish for outdoor parties & picnics !
Related Posts:
Potato Salad with Herbs & Tomatoes – A “Fresh Moroccan” Taste
Avocado & Roasted Corn Salsa
Chickpea Salad with Roasted Tomatoes
Interesting approach to try to down the global warming I’ll put it in my events sections..and to do it of course 🙂
Soma the salad looks colorful and healthy, worth to enjoy soon!
Cheers!
Gera
Thank You Gera! I think these issues need as much awareness as possible…
It’s good that people are creating such specific events which deals with this burning issue ….and the salad looks absolutely delicious ..
hugs and smiles
Thats a worthful gesture Soma, Barley salad looks amazing, very colourful also healthy…
Soma, love the spring colors. They look fab.
Will keep Earth Hour in mind.
In Tamil Nadu,two months ago we had serious power shortage for about a month and govt declared 6 hours of power cuts everyday..Indians are no strangers to power shortages ..but that is not the case in developed countries where electricity is taken for granted.It makes me feel sick that people do not realize the wastage of energy ..Even in India,I have seen the street lights are kept on during the day time too.Simple measures like turning off the lights/fans/Ac when not required is a great way of saving energy to some extent..Its high time we should take some serious steps like this ‘Earth hour program’ to control global warming..
Salad looks very healthy n looks vibrant ..I have never tasted barley..I bought a small pack y’day..Should try that out..
WOw this salade looks so colourfull and so healthy delicious.
Happy earth hour, salad looks colorful and delicious. I am posting my Pasta early tomorrow at Aroma for you and will send it to ASAP, don’t round up without mine! ;D
Enjoy Sunday.
Great entry to Earth Hour, an event that needs everyone to be involved. That’s a beautiful salad!
I’ve never tried Barley. Mebbe its time no? 🙂
Love the Earth hour idea!
What a great looking salad! I love barley and I’m always looking for new ways to prepare it.
Thanks for letting me know about this!
I sincerely hope that I remember to do this.
I didn’t know about the earth hour! Thanks for enlightening me Soma! That way we can save some energy, right?
Barley salad looks so colorful and gorgeous. Nice mouth-watering recipe as always 🙂
Loved the colorful salad, very hearty and healthy ! Thanks for letting me know about the earth hour, I will keep it in mind 🙂
Thank You for enlightening about Earth hour..Salad looks so colorful and delish..
love the recipes in your site. keep it up
Wah bhai Wah..Firstly tell me where did u buy this platter from?am just gng crazy abt it hehe.. 😀
The salad looks just gorgeous n what a fab pic..:) ..I neva knew abt this day n dint see ur post yday..We were out shopping I guess..missed it..:p ..Anyways nice event n such a grt entry for it.. 🙂
From Linen & Things.. Last summer:-) I miss Linen & Things.
thanks for letting us know about the Earth hour…
and I love the colourful salad.. like you said, easy to prepare and healthy and filling 🙂
Love the picture, it has this beautiful spring feeling to it. The salad is so colorful and healthy. Loved the idea of adding barley to this.
We have almost stopped watching TV now. We started it first to keep our little one from watching and now we feel that gives us time to do so many useful things around the house. Of course that includes blogging 🙂
One hour will definetly make lots of difference in US. It is still chilly here, The barley salad is very colorful!
that’s a very healthy salad.. wonderful click. thanks for letting me know of the earth hour. will do.
lovely post Soma,..;-)
Love, love salads. Ki coulourful dekhacche Soma!
Jani na keno reader tomar posts upgrade korche na … ar ami bhabchi tumi bodh hoye busy … tai posts nei. 🙁
Barley diye salad kokhono khai ni, barley bhablei mone hoy jor er khabar tai kokhono try korini 🙂 Tobe anyo grains diyeo kora jai ki bolo
Very pretty and colorful
Sandeepa, jorer shomoye barley water er memory tei onek din obdhi barley try korini amio:-) but when i finally did, i realized that the actual barley is waaay better than the yucky water. eta shob kichu diyei kora jaye… i do the same kinda thing with brown rice, orzo, even cooked daliya.. or bulgar… it’s jut something with veggies & whatever else u want to put in it!
what a wonderful concept, and that salad is just the perfect meal for it
This barley salad looks so colorful and sound super healthy and delicious!
I’m seeing a lot of barley recipes these days. I usually use it soups, have not tried salads yet. That’s a healthy meal!
Fascinating concept of Earth Hour ! The salad looks a beauty !!
Never tried barley in a salad. This does look colourful and delicious.
Liked the recent write-up you uploaded, Keep them going peace.